Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), announced its wholly owned subsidiary Recurrent Energy, LLC ("Recurrent Energy") has signed a build-transfer agreement ("BTA") for a base purchase price of approximately $138.4 million with Entergy Mississippi on a 100 megawatt ("MWac") solar photovoltaic project. One of the first solar BTAs to be signed in the U.S., this agreement is expected to provide Entergy with the largest utility-owned solar facility in the state of Mississippi, pending approval by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

The 100 MWac Sunflower solar project, located on approximately 1,000 acres in Sunflower County, Mississippi, is being developed by Recurrent Energy. Once the facility is operational, which is expected by mid-2022, Entergy Mississippi will own the Sunflower project, allowing the regulated utility to power more than 16,000 homes with clean electricity.

"Across the globe, we continue to witness an evolution in the relationship that utilities have with solar energy," said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar. "This agreement marks one of the first build-transfer agreements for solar to be executed in the U.S., and we are very proud to have partnered with Entergy on this landmark deal. We look forward to a continued partnership on this and future projects."

The Sunflower project will use single-axis trackers and is expected to create approximately 360 jobs during construction.